EP0642044A1 - Leitungsendgerät insbesondere signalsendendes, Verbinderanordnung - Google Patents

Leitungsendgerät insbesondere signalsendendes, Verbinderanordnung Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0642044A1
EP0642044A1 EP94306408A EP94306408A EP0642044A1 EP 0642044 A1 EP0642044 A1 EP 0642044A1 EP 94306408 A EP94306408 A EP 94306408A EP 94306408 A EP94306408 A EP 94306408A EP 0642044 A1 EP0642044 A1 EP 0642044A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
plug
socket
connector assembly
terminals
assembly according
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP94306408A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Yehuda Don-Yehiya
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd
Original Assignee
State of Israel Ministry of Defence Raphael Armament Development Authority
State of Israel
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Family has litigation
First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=11065227&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=EP0642044(A1) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Application filed by State of Israel Ministry of Defence Raphael Armament Development Authority, State of Israel filed Critical State of Israel Ministry of Defence Raphael Armament Development Authority
Publication of EP0642044A1 publication Critical patent/EP0642044A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/46—Bases; Cases
    • H01R13/52—Dustproof, splashproof, drip-proof, waterproof, or flameproof cases
    • H01R13/5213—Covers
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
    • G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
    • G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
    • G02B6/3833—Details of mounting fibres in ferrules; Assembly methods; Manufacture
    • G02B6/3847—Details of mounting fibres in ferrules; Assembly methods; Manufacture with means preventing fibre end damage, e.g. recessed fibre surfaces
    • G02B6/3849—Details of mounting fibres in ferrules; Assembly methods; Manufacture with means preventing fibre end damage, e.g. recessed fibre surfaces using mechanical protective elements, e.g. caps, hoods, sealing membranes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
    • G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
    • G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
    • G02B6/389—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs characterised by the method of fastening connecting plugs and sockets, e.g. screw- or nut-lock, snap-in, bayonet type

Definitions

  • This invention relates to line terminal connector assemblies, more particularly signal transmitter connector assemblies, specifically to an assembly for permitting the transmission of optical or electrical signals between the terminals of two transmission lines or between a generator and a transmission line, or between a transmission line and a receiver.
  • signal transmitter connector assemblies of the invention may further be provided with additional connections, such as for feeding a gas therethrough.
  • the connector assemblies of this invention may serve to connect fluid, e.g. gas, lines, in the absence of optical or electrical terminals.
  • Connector assemblies for electrical or optical conductors are conventional in the art.
  • optical fibers the problem arises of protecting them against contamination from dirt, dust and the like, which may cause an alteration in the transmission of optical signals.
  • Another problem which arises is how to protect the eye of the user against accidental damage from radiation, e.g. laser radiation, issuing from the terminals of conductors and emitters.
  • Electrical conductors are less sensitive to contamination, but they should desirably be protected against it, especially in applications in which a perfect electrical contact is important.
  • USP 4,640,575 discloses a combination dust cover and radiation shield which normally covers and can be forced into close engagement with a terminal from which radiation, e.g. laser radiation, is emitted, and can be detached therefrom and deformed to allow insertion of another terminal.
  • radiation e.g. laser radiation
  • Such a device requires manual operation, is unreliable because it is based on the elastic memory of the flap, and is structurally awkward and adapted to be applied only to a socket type terminal. It is therefore of very limited applicability and efficiency.
  • OLS 2734522 discloses a connection for optical fibers in which one terminal is protected by a flexible membrane, which is cut along radial lines, so that the terminal itself may penetrate through the membrane, deflecting it outwardly, and engage the other terminal. This device affords protection to one terminal only and further is based on a flexible membrane and is therefore not reliable. Furthermore, when the two terminals are coupled, the flexible membrane is deflected towards the inside of the coupling and tends to introduce into it any dirt that may have accumulated thereon.
  • USP 4,411,491 describes a connector assembly wherein the two terminals are protected by flexible membranes that are centrally slit, displacement means being provided for deforming the membranes, upon engagement of the connector components, so as to widen the slit and permit passage and mutual engagement of the optical elements.
  • This device is structurally complicated and does not provide full protection of the optical terminals. Since it is based on the deformation of flexible membranes, it is not reliable and its performance on reusing is doubtful, as it is based on the assumption that the membranes will fully recover from the deformed state in which they have been kept during the operation of the coupling. Further, it too tends to introduce into the coupling any dirt that may have accumulated on the membranes.
  • USP 4,696,540 discloses a connector assembly in which both terminals are protected by a diaphragm, and both diaphragms are perforated by ferrules mounted on the ends of the optical fibers of one terminal, which can thus come into optical engagement with the fibers of the other terminal.
  • This device is intended for underwater use and, if applied to other uses, it is needlessly complicated. It is unreliable, because it entrusts the optical fiber ends, provided with ferrules, with a perforating action. It is not reversible, because once the diaphragms have been perforated, the device must be disassembled and reassembled if it is to be used again. Furthermore, the ferrules, in performing their perforating action, will pick up dirt that has accumulated on the diaphragms and carry it into the coupling.
  • None of the devices disclosed in the prior art has the qualities of being fully automatic, fully reversible, sturdy and completely reliable, and of a simple and economical construction.
  • the connector assembly for optical or electrical conductor or fluid line terminal is characterized in that it comprises:
  • the terminals are or comprise optical or electrical terminals and their engaged positioned relationship is such that signals may be transmitted therebetween.
  • said connector assembly comprises guide means in said socket and said plug for guiding them in said mutual displacements.
  • said first opening means are so positioned in said socket that said second lid is brought to its open position before said second opening means become operative.
  • said lids are pivoted to the respective connector members and are swingable from their closed to their open positions, and vice versa; and the elastic means are tension springs attached to the lids so as to exert thereon a moment of rotation in such a direction as to maintain them in their closed position or bring them back to it when they have been opened.
  • the opening means comprise preferably a first surface on a base rigidly connected to the socket and a second surface on the second lid, which surfaces come into engagement when said plug and socket are mutually displaced to engage them, and are so positioned that said first surface exerts a pressure on said second surface, when they come into engagement, which produces a moment on said second lid having the opposite direction to the moment exerted thereon by the respective tension spring.
  • the second opening means preferably comprise a third surface on a handle rigidly connected to the plug and a fourth surface on the first lid, which surfaces come into engagement when said plug and socket are mutually displaced to engage them, and are so positioned that said third surface exerts a pressure on said fourth surface, when they come into engagement, which produces a moment on said first lid having the opposite direction to the moment exerted thereon by the respective tension spring.
  • the plug and socket members preferably have seats defined therein for receiving each the lid carried by the other member when the same is in its open positions.
  • the plug and socket members have cavities or chambers defined therein for housing the terminals, the plug member preferably having a sleeve-like end portion or projection which fits into the socket chamber when the two members are engaged in their operative positioned relationship.
  • one of the two elements of the connector viz. the socket member
  • a base which in this embodiment is a support body 12, shown in the drawings as broken off and which may be of any kind or shape, as long as it is suited to support the socket and to provide the guide and opening elements that will be described hereinafter.
  • the said guide and opening elements would have to be provided in parts attached rigidly or in fixed positioned relationship to the socket.
  • base as used herein and in the claims, is intended therefore to include both a support body or any parts rigidly connected or connectable in fixed positioned relationship to the socket.
  • the second element of the connector generally indicated at 11, viz. the plug member, is shown in Fig.
  • the socket 10 comprises a cavity or chamber 13, in which the terminals of the optical fibers or electrical wires or in general any conducting elements that are to be connected by means of the connector, are housed.
  • the other terminals also not shown, are housed in a cavity or chamber 14 provided in the plug 11.
  • the said terminals are not shown in the drawings because they are not part of the invention and may be conventional. However, for purposes of illustration, optical terminals are schematically shown in Fig. 10. Chambers 13 and 14 are therefore terminal housing chambers. As most clearly seen in Fig.
  • plug 11 has a projection or end or forward portion 15 which is sleeve-shaped, and of such an outer diameter that it fits snugly within chamber 13 of the socket when the connector is in the engaged or operative position. In that position, the terminals carried by the plug and socket respectively have come into optical or electrical engagement, as the case may be.
  • the socket 10 is provided with a closure member or lid 20 which is a plate, preferably a metal plate, pivoted at 21 to body 22 of socket 10 and provided with grooves which preferably house gaskets 23 (best seen in Fig. 5). Said grooves are adapted to receive lips 24 of socket body 22.
  • plug 11 is provided with a closure member or lid 26, pivoted at 27 to body 28 of the plug and provided with grooves preferably housing gaskets 29 (best seen in Fig. 5) adapted to engage lips 30 of plug body 28.
  • Socket 10 is provided with spring 31 and plug 11 is provided with spring 32.
  • spring 31, which is attached at 33 to body 22 of socket 10 and at 34 to lid 20, keeps this latter in an essentially vertical position, in contact with lips 24 of socket body 22, thereby to close the space within the seat 13 and fully protect the optical or electrical terminals housed therein from any contamination.
  • spring 32 which is attached at 35 to body 28 of plug 11 and at 36 to lid 26 of plug 11, keeps said lid 26 in an essentially vertical position, in engagement with lips 30 of plug 11, whereby to close chamber 14 and fully protect any optical or electrical terminals housed therein from any contamination.
  • Plug 11 is provided with or rigidly connected to means for displacing it, which means will be generally called "handle", it being understood that this term is to be construed as signifying any element that is connected to the plug proper in fixed positioned relationship and is, in substance, an extension of the plug itself.
  • a handle 40 is provided, which may be shaped in any convenient way, as long as it permits to introduce the terminals into chamber 14 and to maneuver said plug to the connected or to the disconnected position, as the case may be.
  • handle 40 is desirably provided with an opening 41, into which the operator may insert his fingers to pull the plug out of engagement with the socket.
  • Support body 12 is provided with lateral grooves 42 adapted to be engaged by ribs 43 of the plug: see Fig.
  • a projection 48 of plug 11 engages the upper lip 49 of closure member 20 of the socket (see Fig. 3), generates a moment of rotation about pivot 21 that is opposite to the moment of spring 51, and causes lid 20 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in the drawing, until it reaches a horizontal position against the lower surface 50 of projection 48.
  • closure member 20 enters a seat 51 defined in the plug handle 40 (as clearly seen in Fig. 6).
  • the engaged position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6 is reached, wherein the sleeve-like projection or end portion 15 of plug 11 snugly fits into chamber 13 of socket 10 and the terminals housed in said chamber 13 and chamber 14 of the plug come into the desired optical or electrical engagement.
  • the lids or cover members 20 and 26 perfectly close terminal chambers 13 and 14 and fully protect the terminals housed therein from any contamination.
  • both lids or cover members are rotated away from their respective terminal housing chambers, and when they reach said connected position, they are located outside the space defined by the terminal housing chambers, from which they are separated by metal surfaces. In this way no dirt that may have accumulated on the lids is transferred to the space in which the terminals are finally housed, when they come into contact.
  • the device is therefore of a sturdy, simple operation, and guarantees full protection of the terminals from any contamination - a result that no device of the prior art could achieve.
  • lids or closure members 20 and 26 When the plug handle is pulled away from the socket, preferably by the operator's inserting his fingers into the opening 41 and pulling, the motions of the lids or closure members 20 and 26 hereinbefore described are reversed. As soon as lid 20 becomes disengaged from cavity 51 and lid 26 becomes disengaged from cavity 47, they begin to rotate clockwise (as seen in the drawings), under the action of the respective springs. As soon as lip 49 of lid 20 is disengaged from projection 48 of plug handle 40 and lip 44 of lid 26 is disengaged from shoulder 45 of the support body 12, there is no moment opposing that of springs 31 and 32, and both lids assume their closed position. The device, therefore, is fully reversible.
  • Fig. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the invention in which means are provided for feeding fluid, e.g. gas, through the connector for any purposes, such as for providing an inert gas atmosphere, or the like.
  • Fig. 9 is a cross-section similar to Fig. 8, wherein the corresponding parts are indicated by the same numerals.
  • this embodiment of the invention also comprises a gas connector generally indicated at 140, which comprises a male member 141 and a female member 142.
  • Male member 141 is attached, in any convenient way, to plug 11
  • female member 142 is attached, in any convenient way, to socket member 12. The reverse could also be true, and the female member could be attached to the plug and the male member to the socket.
  • Male member 141 comprises a tubular passage 143 for connection to a fluid line, not shown, and female member 142 has a tubular passage 144 for connection, through a socket 145, to a fluid line.
  • Male member 141 has a nozzle portion 146 which is received, when the corrector is engaged as shown in Fig. 9, into a cup-like receiving portion 147 of female member 142.
  • a gas seal is provided by a gasket 148 between the outer surface of nozzle portion 146 of the male member and the inner surface of cup-shaped portion 147 of the female member.
  • a continued, sealed passage is thus determined between the tubular passages 143 and 144.
  • Fig. 9 also illustrates another embodiment of the invention, in which the connector assembly is used to provide passage of a gas or other fluid, without optical or electrical terminals being present.
  • Fig. 10 schematically illustrates a structure such as that of Fig. 9, in which optical fiber terminals 150 and 151, with optical fiber ends 152 and 153, are shown in mutually engaged position.
  • Different optical terminals or electrical terminals could be provided, and more than one type of terminals could be housed by the same connector, by suitably positioning them therein.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Connector Housings Or Holding Contact Members (AREA)
  • Mechanical Coupling Of Light Guides (AREA)
EP94306408A 1993-09-02 1994-08-31 Leitungsendgerät insbesondere signalsendendes, Verbinderanordnung Withdrawn EP0642044A1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IL10687693 1993-09-02
IL10687693A IL106876A (en) 1993-09-02 1993-09-02 Signal transmission connector

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0642044A1 true EP0642044A1 (de) 1995-03-08

Family

ID=11065227

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP94306408A Withdrawn EP0642044A1 (de) 1993-09-02 1994-08-31 Leitungsendgerät insbesondere signalsendendes, Verbinderanordnung

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0642044A1 (de)
CA (1) CA2131131A1 (de)
IL (1) IL106876A (de)
ZA (1) ZA946660B (de)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2300978A (en) * 1995-04-19 1996-11-20 Smiths Industries Plc Shutter for connector

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3279497A (en) * 1964-01-21 1966-10-18 Weatherhead Co Quick disconnect coupling
DE3530639A1 (de) * 1985-08-28 1987-03-12 Bbc Brown Boveri & Cie Installationsgeraet mit einem kappenartigen klappdeckel
EP0232792A1 (de) * 1986-02-14 1987-08-19 Hüls Troisdorf Aktiengesellschaft Elektrische Steckverbindung
EP0485196A2 (de) * 1990-11-07 1992-05-13 BICC Public Limited Company Optische Verbindung zu Rückwandplatinen
EP0538089A1 (de) * 1991-10-14 1993-04-21 Societe Eca Optische Steckverbindung, insbesondere unterwassertauglich
EP0570652A2 (de) * 1992-05-20 1993-11-24 Diamond S.A. Steckverbindung für Lichtwellenleiter

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3279497A (en) * 1964-01-21 1966-10-18 Weatherhead Co Quick disconnect coupling
DE3530639A1 (de) * 1985-08-28 1987-03-12 Bbc Brown Boveri & Cie Installationsgeraet mit einem kappenartigen klappdeckel
EP0232792A1 (de) * 1986-02-14 1987-08-19 Hüls Troisdorf Aktiengesellschaft Elektrische Steckverbindung
EP0485196A2 (de) * 1990-11-07 1992-05-13 BICC Public Limited Company Optische Verbindung zu Rückwandplatinen
EP0538089A1 (de) * 1991-10-14 1993-04-21 Societe Eca Optische Steckverbindung, insbesondere unterwassertauglich
EP0570652A2 (de) * 1992-05-20 1993-11-24 Diamond S.A. Steckverbindung für Lichtwellenleiter

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
"Fiber Optic Connector with Built-in Shutter", RESEARCH DISCLOSURE, no. 275, March 1987 (1987-03-01), HAVANT GB, pages 124 *

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2300978A (en) * 1995-04-19 1996-11-20 Smiths Industries Plc Shutter for connector

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ZA946660B (en) 1995-04-20
CA2131131A1 (en) 1995-03-03
IL106876A (en) 1995-10-31

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